


Dance Class

by Stormy_Skies7781



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:53:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormy_Skies7781/pseuds/Stormy_Skies7781
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has lived in Brooklyn all her life;<br/>He moved to America from Ukraine;<br/>She has always wanted to dance;<br/>He has dancing in his blood.<br/><br/>Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Lakyn Cavelle were destined to meet each other, but was their love destined to survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance Class

Lakyn Cavelle sighed as she hitched her backpack up onto her shoulder. School wasn’t her favourite place to be. Still it was better than being home. She couldn’t take her parents arguing again. She smiled at her friends, the only two people who knew about her struggles at home. The teachers were aware but because Lakyn was clever they gave her some sympathy but she was allowed to spend extra time in the library to get her work done. So she didn’t have to spend any time with the arguing at home trying to do her homework.  
“Hey. How’s things?” Charlotte asked.  
“Ok, they’re still fighting and I think it’ll be soon when they end it.” Lakyn said.  
“Are you sure it’s gonna be ok?” Caitlyn said.  
“Yeah, I mean – I’m 15, I can choose who to stay with.” Lakyn said. She didn’t get along with her mother all that well anyway so she’d choose her father.  
“Are you sure you’ll be allowed to? Isn’t it minors have to stay with their mother?” Charlotte asked.  
“If they are under 14. Since my birthday was four days ago, I can make an informed decision. Plus Dad wants me to attend типы танцульки. Mom not so much.” Lakyn had always dreamed of being a professional dancer. Lakyn looked up as that totally hot guy and his kind of adorable brother walked past them. Only the younger attended the school. His brother was 21 and already studying at University. Where no one was sure but they knew he was at least enjoying it.  
“What are their names again?” Charlotte breathed.  
“Forget that. What’s my name again?” Caitlyn laughed.  
“They are Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, and you are Caitlyn Addams. I’m gonna go talk to them.” Lakyn said.  
“WHAT?!” Charlotte cried, making people around them stare.  
“Why?!” Caitlyn asked, grabbing Lakyn’s arm.  
“Valentin and I have Chemistry together, we’re lab partners. I have to talk to him.” She said. What she didn’t tell her friends, and never would until she had no choice, was that she had a massive crush on Valentin, and had no intention of telling him anytime soon. Sure she knew Maksim and Valentin were good–looking guys, she is red–blooded female and she wasn’t blind. Valentin was also really nice and funny. He made her smile just by smiling shyly at her like he did. She could even work out what he was trying to say through his pretty good but still broken English.  
“Hey Valentin!” He turned from his brother to see who had called his name. He said something to Maksim in Russian that Lakyn would never be able to decipher it even if she wanted to.  
“Hi.” He replied to her, “What is wrong?”  
“Ничего. Just wanted to ask if you want to work on our project at the архив tonight, После архива?” He understood more than he said, but had taught her a few words in Russian, it made it easier. Maksim seemed surprised.  
“Она говорит русского?” He demanded.  
“Нет, я научил ей некоторым словам.” Valentin replied.  
“Почему?” Maksim asked.  
“Так оно делает его легко когда мы говорим.” Valentin said with a smile. Maksim shrugged and flashed a cheeky smile in Lakyn’s direction before walking away and shooting a smouldering look at some junior girls standing in a group, they giggled and swooned but Maksim just kept on walking.  
“Do you use Русско when you speak to your friends?” Valentin asked, pausing before saying friends as he still struggled with the words slightly.  
“Да.” Lakyn replied. Valentin frowned, as if to ask her why on Earth she would do that to her friends, “Будет потехой делая их confused.” She told him, he laughed. Nodding, he then agreed to her earlier statement about working at the library on their Chemistry project.  
~-~-~  
_(Please imagine this is all in Russian – it was too time consuming to translate it all so just imagine…)_  
“I can’t believe you taught her Russian!” Maks snapped at Val on the walk home.  
“Why shouldn’t I? I like her Maks! Lakyn is the only real friend I’ve got! The only one who doesn’t want be my friend because I’m either your brother or because they think I’m good-looking! Lakyn and I have been forced together because of alphabetical seating charts and she’s my friend!” Val argued.  
“But why Russian? Why not get her to help you with your English?” Maks asked, sharply.  
“She is! But the Russian still helps sometimes. She uses it with her friends and confuses the hell out of them!” Val responded, “Lakyn talking to me is because she wants to, not because she had to. I mean – she didn’t have to come up to us this morning and ask if I wanted to go to the Library tonight and work on our project. But she did. Because she wanted to.” Maks didn’t like the tone Val was taking but he knew that his brother truly believed what he was saying. So Maks just asked if he wanted a ride to the Library.  
~-~-~  
“Hey,” Lakyn looked up and into a pair of smiling brown eyes.  
“Hey! I didn’t think you’d make it.” She said.  
“I said I would be here, I am here.” Val replied, his English really was pretty good, he’d been practising and he watched a lot of Full House and credited that with teaching him some of his English.  
“Right, so we need to work out, what parts of the project we are doing. How’s your handwriting?” Lakyn asked. Val gave her a look that told her he didn’t understand. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a book. When she opened it Val laughed. Easy-to-Learn Russian was written on the cover. When she found the words she was looking for, Lakyn wrote them down before reading them out to make sense:  
“We need to work out, what parts of the project we are doing. How’s your handwriting?” (A/N: Again imagine that was in Russian) she recited. Val’s eyebrows went up and he smiled at her.  
“Did I say something wrong?” She asked.  
“No, it was right. Just…strange hearing you say it.” He told her. She gave him a smile and waited for his reply.  
“My handwriting is ok.” He said, “it’s neater than Maks’.”  
“Max?” She frowned, unfamiliar with the name.  
“M-A-K-S. My brother.” He clarified.  
“Oh, right! Cause you’re Val, he’s Maks.” She laughed. They spent the better part of the afternoon working together. Laughing and being told off by the librarian.  
“Do you need Maks to give you a ride home?” Val asked as they waited for Maks to pick him up.  
“No, I mean – my parents don’t even know if I’m there.” Lakyn said, Val frowned.  
“Why not? Do they work a lot?” He asked.  
“Heт, Моим родителям воюет.” She said, Val’s frown deepened.  
“Я огорченн я не знает.” He said, she shook her head.  
“It’s ok. I mean I usually spend time at Charlotte’s or Caitlyn’s I’ll just make my way there.” Lakyn said.  
“No, you come have dinner at my home. My parents would delight at meeting you.” Lakyn noted the way he spoke and smiled. He was getting better but still needed slight instruction.  
“I’m glad that your parents would be delighted to meet me. I’d be happy to have dinner at your house.” She said, subtlety telling him how to say it properly. Val grinned, that was how he learnt. She would say it back in a response but not obviously correct him. When Maks pulled up, Val explained in Russian what was going on. Maks sighed and nodded.  
“Hello, Lakyn.” He said, his accent was much thicker than Val’s but he also smiled at her.  
“Hello, Maks, it’s nice to meet you finally.” Lakyn returned with a smile of her own. It would be interesting to see what she was served tonight, hopefully it wouldn’t be fish…she didn’t want to have to refuse with the word ‘allergy’ getting confused and making them think she was being disrespectful.  
~-~-~  
“I’m so sorry,” Lakyn was sobbing as Val led her to the bathroom and retrieved the first aid kit.  
“It is not your fault.” He told her, perhaps a little colder than he meant to. He sat her down on the edge of the bath and looked down at her hand, the burn had started to turn the skin pink, and he reached out and turned the cold tap on in the bath making her lean over and hold her hand under it, as he rummaged in the first aid kit to find the burn cream and a bandage.  
“I meant no offense.” She said quietly, as the water numbed her hand.  
“No offense was taken. My mother has no offense.” Val said, his tone still a bit too cold.  
“Is not offended.” Lakyn snapped, she was a little tired of his tone. Val seemed surprised and looked just a little affronted. Lakyn didn’t soften.  
“I am sorry, I had it wrong.” He said. But Lakyn ignored him. Shaking his head, Val took her hand and gently smeared the burn cream on it before wrapping it in a bandage. Lakyn wiped her tears away and she watched as Val packed away the first aid kit and stood up.  
“I am sorry, Val. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” She said.  
“No…I am sorry. I have been…what’s the word?” Val hadn’t come across this phrase before.  
“Rude? Cold?” Lakyn offered.  
“Cold to you, just now. I am sorry.” He said, she smiled. Maybe he had to check himself sometimes but Lakyn had meant no offense by refusing the fish she had to ask Val to explain that she was allergic to it and would have a very bad reaction if she ate it. But when Val’s mother heard she wasn’t happy about it. But Maks had tried to help – by trying to make something else for Lakyn. That didn’t work out too well, because in an accident she had burnt her hand and now she was heading home – with Maks driving her – and she would not be allowed back she was sure.  
~-~-~  
**Two Years Later – Senior Year – Graduation (2004 approx.)**  
Val and Lakyn stood side-by-side as the Diplomas were given out, she gave him a smile when her name was read out. Then his name was called – the Principal said it wrong but then nearly everyone did. His English was much better. And he’d come a long way, and Lakyn was proud of him. Maksim was in the audience and Lakyn could have sworn she heard him over everyone else, cheering loudly for both of them. She was so lucky to have Maks as a friend, he was sweet, nice and really funny. Maks was very lucky, he was now 24 and he had a spot on Dancing With The Stars, which was to air the following year on ABC. And they were recruiting dancer for a troupe. Lakyn and Val were told they’d get tickets to it so they could see all the dancers in action. Val was already impressive and he had been teaching Lakyn some of the dances. Maks helped when he could. It was nice to know that her friends were there for her. And she was sure that Val could get a place on Dancing With The Stars. He would go to college first he had said he wanted to. Lakyn was glad that Val knew what he wanted to do and she knew it would be wonderful to see him flourish.  
“Are you still here?” His baritone said in her ear, she turned to him with a smile.  
“Sorry, Val. Yeah, I’m here.” Lakyn said.  
“Good. Because Caitlyn is about to do her speech.” Val pointed out, Caitlyn and Lakyn had remained friends but in the last month or so – Caitlyn had been a little cold towards Lakyn. Mostly because Caitlyn had always had a crush on Val and with Lakyn being his friend she saw Lakyn as a threat – but Val had turned Caitlyn down anyway. He told her he wasn’t after a girlfriend and he wasn’t. He wanted to concentrate on his education just now.  
~-~-~  
**Dancing With The Stars Season 18**  
Danica McKellar. Lakyn remembered seeing her books in the book store down the street from her house. But Lakyn had never seen her on TV. She was beautiful and she was a good dancer. But then again – she had an awesome teacher in Val. Lakyn was always at the show, as a guest of Val. She normally sat with his friends but this particular night his grandmother, Sofiya, had decided to come out and support him and Maks. Lakyn would have liked Danica and Val to win but when she saw Meryl dance with Maks there was no doubt in Lakyn’s mind who would win. It was so clear that Meryl had always been the one to win and even when Lakyn told Val, he agreed.  
“But then you never know til you know right?” He frowned, “I mean – anything could happen and votes could flood in for Amy or Candace. But I think Meryl has a lot of support from her family, friends, other skaters and most of America. So she’s sure to win it.” Lakyn said. And it’s fair to say she was right.  
~-~-~  
**Dancing With The Stars Season 20**  
Rumer Willis. Famous Father. Big name, lots to live up to. But from the start Rumer was a front runner, much like Season 18 and Meryl Davis. Val and Rumer did wonderful routines and again Lakyn was there every week. It was harder to get tickets so again she was a guest of Val that guaranteed her a seat. Even if Rumer was a front runner she had tough competition with Riker Lynch – whom Lakyn admitted to Val she thought was very good looking – much like she had with James Maslow in Season 18 – but she knew beyond doubt that Rumer would win. And it would secure Val with a mirror ball trophy. And it came as no surprise to Maks that Lakyn had been correct and Val and Rumer had won it.  
~-~-~  
Lakyn stood with her hands on her hips watching Val. He was turning slowly in the middle of her living room.  
“Are you done?” She asked. He turned slowly to face her, his jaw on the floor.  
“You’ve done well for yourself.” He said.  
“So have you. DWTS for how many seasons now? Ten? Isn’t that the same as Maks or longer?” Lakyn asked.  
“Uh…does it matter?” Val replied.  
“You’re about to start Season 23. You started in Season 13, right? That’s like ten seasons – that’s amazing.” Lakyn said, “You could have a house like this. But you chose an apartment.”  
“Well, I also live in New York in the ‘off season’.” He said, with inverted quotations.  
“We don’t play football, Val.” Lakyn reminded him, “Anyway – what do you think? Isn’t it fabulous?”  
“It is. It’s beautiful. You’ve done very well for yourself. All that time renting and now you have your own house. How did you do it?” He asked.  
“All those extra shifts I pulled at the work. How else do you think I did it?” She said, “I was thinking of asking you to move in. You know as friends?” Val smiled at her.  
“I would like that.” He agreed and by the end of the week they were housemates.  
~-~-~  
Val ducked as she threw a vase at him, he heard it smash as it hit the wall. He held up his hands in defence he had no idea she would get this angry. It was just a kiss! Heat of the moment, acting kind of thing. It was for the dance and he’d explained this to her. Surely being an actor herself she would understand this!  
“Baby, come on. You know it was for the dance.” He said, but Lakyn was having none of it.  
“You like her don’t you?” She snarled.  
“I _like_ her, yes. But I _love_ you, Lakyn!” Val explained, ducking again as she threw a book at him. Lakyn paused for a moment, she was holding another book poised ready to throw at him, but as his words sunk in, the book slipped from her hand and she fell to her knees, the tears and sobs coming fast. She hid her face in her hands even as he knelt in front of her and pulled her into his chest. Val had never said he loved her, she knew he did as friends but what if it was more? He held her for the longest time. Just held her, gradually her sobs began to subside. Val still held her, even as her hands gripped his arms and she curled herself into his lap. Val pressed a kiss to her head and rested his cheek against her head.  
“I’m sorry I upset you. I didn’t mean to.” He whispered. She nodded.  
“I know. I love you too Val.” Lakyn replied just as softly.  
~-~-~  
**DWTS Rehearsal Studio**  
It was quiet in the studio. They stared at each other, not noticing that Sasha left them alone and he’d ask the cameras to follow him, giving them some privacy. Lakyn had been asked to do DWTS because of her spot in a hit TV Show. Val had told her how hard it was to be on the show. But now as the finals drew closer and she being in it. Not a front runner but in the finals he wanted to tell her how proud he was of her. Lakyn wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear it. They’d had another huge fight the night before.  
“I know you can do it.” He told her softly as he walked towards her.  
“I don’t care about winning it Val. Sasha maybe, but not me. For me I already feel like I’ve won. I’ve made it through all those weeks of training and dancing and now I’m here. I’ve already won.” Lakyn said, allowing him to take her hands and lead her in a simple cha cha, one of her dances for the finale. He spun her out and in and changed the dance to a Rumba, her do-over dance. Her first Rumba had gotten her 19 and she and Sasha had been given the change to have a do-over. Her last dance was the Freestyle, but Val held her for a rumba.  
“I’m sorry for last night. That’s the third time I’ve upset you.” He said.  
“I had it at second.” Lakyn frowned.  
“Once at school. You came to my house for dinner and I was cold to you. When I dressed the burn on your palm.” He told her, he turned over her right hand and ran his fingers allow the tiny scar that was there, the only reminder of how one simple allergy to fish had caused a whole lot more trouble than it should have. Lakyn smiled softly and curled her hand into a fist.  
“I should have gone to Charlotte and Caitlyn’s.” She laughed. Val pulled her into his chest, they were flush against each other.  
“I…I wish I didn’t hurt you so much when we fight.” Val said.  
“It’s not like a punch up, Val. It’s your words that hurt.” Lakyn told him, “you know…when I was at school, all I ever wanted to do was dance. And now I’m dancing, but I’m dancing with the wrong guy.” Lakyn said. He frowned.  
“What do you mean?” He asked.  
“I’m doing this competition with Sasha. I should have been dancing with you. I know they can’t do that – it’s not fair. But I wish I could have.” Lakyn said, “Я теБя люблю, Val.” She whispered. Val smiled, she remembered.  
He nodded, “Я теБя люблю, Lakyn.” He told her, he again pulled her tight against his chest and she welcomed his following kiss. It wasn’t until Sasha cleared his throat loudly that they broke apart.  
“Sorry, but there is the matter of a Grand Finale to win on Monday night.” He said, with a knowing smirk. Val smiled at his friend, gave Lakyn a quick peck on the mouth then with a promise to be at the show Monday disappeared out of the studio. Lakyn didn’t win on Monday but she still got the biggest hugs from Maks and Val who were both in the audience. She didn’t need a trophy she had her best friend and her lover. That was all she needed. And maybe one or two dance classes.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Translations:_  
>  Типы танцульки – Dance Classes (Lit. types of the dance)  
> Ничего – Nothing  
> Архив - Library  
> После архива – After school  
> Она говорит русского? – She speaks Russian?  
> Нет, я научил ей некоторым словам – No, I taught her some words.  
> Почему? – Why?  
> Так оно делает его легко когда мы говорим. – So it makes it easier when we talk  
> Русско – Russian  
> Да - Yes  
> Будет потехой делая их confused – Its fun making them confused  
> Heт, Моим родителям воюет – No, my parents are fighting  
> Я огорченн я не знает – I am sorry, I did not know.  
> Я теБя люблю, Val – I love you, Val  
> Я теБя люблю, Lakyn – I love you, Lakyn


End file.
